Mastering Online Marketing by Mitch Myerson – Book Review

Today, I want to provide a book review of “Mastering Online Marketing” by Mitch Myerson. I purchased this book back in early 2009 when I first had the desire to start making money online. At the time, I knew absolutely nothing about how to make money online. The only thing I really knew how to do (at that time) was check my email and do an internet search.

I really used this book as my blueprint to get started, and I still refer to it today. I learned about the book on Amazon while searching for books on how to start your own internet based business. It had good ratings so I decided to take a chance on it. I read it from cover to cover in about a week. I took tons of notes and had lots of questions, so I re-read it again.

The information I learned helped me brainstorm some ideas for my websites, which are alive and well today (many years later).

Overall, I loved this book. Even though the internet has changed significantly during the past six years, the principles in this book still hold true today. Mitch covers TONS of information such as:

Not only does Mitch Meyerson cover the 30,000 foot view of building an online business, but he also covers many of the nitty-gritty details. I think this book is great for someone already making money online or someone who would like to.

What I want to do in the paragraphs below is share a few of my favorite quotes and lessons from the book. Each quote is in bold and italics. I also provide my own two cents after each quote.

# 1 Many online marketers mistakenly leap into action and rush to build their web sites – without giving the process sufficient time, thought, and planning –enticed by the gobs of money they’ll earn and the relatively low cost of entry. Like any business, you need a game plan before you get started. Failing to plan is planning to fail. Spend some time and do your homework before you start your online business. Evaluate your competition. Share some of your ideas with someone else who already has a successful online business.Put your thoughts down on paper and come up with a written business plan.

# 2 Online businesses (and all others) go bust because lots of mistakes, most seemingly small, were made over an extended period of time. Most people starting their own online business fail. Heck, most businesses fail. Businesses fail for a variety of reasons, normally stemming from the owner not knowing what they are doing. If you don’t know what you are doing you won’t make it in business very long. You can only “wing it” so long. On the other hand, success happens by getting a little bit better each day over an extended period of time.

# 3 Realize that being good at something does not mean you’ll succeed at running a business that does that work! Just because you are good at writing does not mean you will have a successful blog or eBook. Just because you are good at cutting hair does not mean you will be able to build a profitable barbershop. The technical work of a business and the tasks the owner should be doing are two totally different things. Most people don’t understand this!

# 4 One of the biggest mistakes that entrepreneurs commit is failing to document, systematize, and communicate key processes (series of action steps), instructions and information. From day one, you want to document everything you do. You want to create a binder or manual with all of your processes, systems, and procedures. This will free up your time so you can hire someone else to help you AND not have to explain every little detail to them.

# 5 Marketing is everything you do to promote your company. Marketing is the most important activity in your business. How you answer the phone is marketing. How you layout your website is marketing. How you dress and how you talk to people is marketing. Study everything you can about marketing and make it your number one priority.

# 6 If you’re going to be successful, you have to be in it for the long-term, not the one shot deals. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Most businesses take a couple years just to get profitable. You must have a game plan, work hard and be patient. If possible, keep your day job and do your business part-time at night and on weekends. You won’t build a website today and make money tomorrow. This is NOT a get rich quick business. There is no such thing as a get rich quick business (not legally anyway).

# 7 Most experts agree that it takes between 9 and 27 marketing messages before a consumer moves from a prospect to a customer. You can’t advertise or talk to someone one time and expect much to happen, not normally anyway. You must follow-up consistently and you must be persistent and consistent with your marketing efforts. You must KEEP your marketing messages in front of your prospects day in and day out until they are ready to buy.

# 8 One of the biggest mistakes that entrepreneurs make is focusing their entire marketing efforts on finding new customers. Make sure you spend at least half your marketing budget taking care of your current customers. It is money well spent. It’s much cheaper to keep a happy customer than it is to go out and try to find a new one.

# 9 The internet is jam-packed with competition. Therefore, as with most things, it’s far easier, less costly, and more effective to be a big fish in a small pond rather than a big fish in a big pond. Pick a niche or sub-niche that is big enough, but isn’t overly competitive. You can’t compete with the big boys who have deep pockets.

# 10 People do not like to be sold; yet they love to buy. Your job is to make people want to buy what you are offering, rather than try to sell them. That’s much easier said than done. The best way to do this is to educate people. Use Attraction Marketing or Attraction Selling. Be a teacher, not a salesperson and you will make more sales than you know what to do with.

# 11 Use a minimum of five devices to attract the right people to your online business. You want to diversify the ways you promote your online business. Don’t have all your eggs in one basket. Find at least five good ways to find new customers. Use strategies such as blogging, video marketing, article marketing, pay per click, social media and more.

# 12 If you build an online business around a product or service that no one wants, needs, or is actively seeking you’re in big trouble. Sell people what they want, not what they need. Find a niche and then create a product. Don’t create a product and then wonder who you are going to sell it too.

# 13 It is much easier and less expensive to sell your products to an existing customer than to acquire a new customer. It’s easier to sell something to someone who already knows you, likes you and trusts you than it is to convert a stranger into a paying customer. Therefore, you need to find additional products and services to sell to your existing customers.

# 14 Your website must look and feel professional. This should be common sense. Make sure your website looks professional and is easy to navigate. Avoid the clutter and keep it simple and professional.

# 15 You have only one chance to make a good first impression. If people don’t like your website there is a good chance they will never come back. Do what you can to create a good first impression. It counts!

# 16 Your sales letter should be as long as it needs to be. Write your advertising copy for your customer, not to win an award. Write as much as you need to, so you can hit your key points and be persuasive. Use direct response marketing with all of your ads.

# 17 Keep in mind the size of your list is not nearly as important as the quality. The money is in the list. It’s not the number of people on your email list that matters. It’s the amount of folks who know you, like you and trust you and are interested in what you have to say and offer them.

# 18 Your online business will be more successful if you don’t try to appeal to the masses. Once again, find a niche or sub-niche where you can target a specific group of people and don’t have too much competition. Be the big fish in a small pond rather than a minnow in the ocean.

# 19 You can’t just put up your website and expect the search engines to begin sending you qualified prospects right away. It’s not an overnight process. It takes YEARS to build a popular, high traffic website.

# 20 Your keywords are the building blocks of all your marketing efforts and they contain the power to make, or break, your ability to get the right traffic to your ecommerce site. Build your website or blog around keywords that have good demand and aren’t overly competitive.

# 21 Regularly check your site for broken links. At least once a month, use a software program to check your website for broken links. The search engines (and your visitors) hate broken links.

# 22 One of the biggest mistakes online marketers commit is thinking they can grow and maintain a thriving online business by themselves. You will ultimately need a team of people with different skill sets to help you build a successful online business. Don’t try to be a lone wolf. Outsource things you aren’t good at as quickly as possible.

# 23 The key to success on the internet is developing multiple streams of income. Ideally, you want at least 3-5 good income streams, so not all of your eggs are in one basket. The more income streams you have the better!

Final Thoughts

If you are thinking about starting an online business I would highly recommend “Mastering Online Marketing” by Mitch Meyerson. Overall, I give the book 4 of 5 stars and consider it a very valuable book in my business library. It is a great book to read before you start an online business. The book is published by Entrepreneur Press and is available anywhere books are sold.

Authorchuckholmes

Chuck Holmes is a Network Marketing Professional, author, and blogger. He's been in the industry since 2002. He is one of the top producers in his network marketing company. He is happily married and lives in Florida with his beautiful wife, Rachel. He enjoys flea markets, reading, writing, walking, fishing and funny movies. You can call Chuck during business hours at (352) 503-4816 EST or you can email him at chuck@onlinemlmcommunity.com.
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#1 is correct, rather than jumping right in, stop and think what you’re going to be doing once your site is up and running. Pick a profitable niche for your site and make yourself familiar with your niche. You also need a business plan as to how you’re going to promote your site and how you’re going to monetize it.

I also agree with #10. Stop thinking that your job is to sell your customers anything. Rather, provide value, give them options and let them decide.

I see the value of a book like this for newcomers and seasoned veterans alike. A person new to the concept could certainly benefit from learning the ins and outs of online business building. Brutal honesty and not misleading optimism is what people need before they opt to enter into the field. And people who have been doing this for awhile could also benefit, because we don’t know everything. A little refresher never hurt anyone.

As a person who has my own website, many of these tips I regularly follow, but I know that I can always learn more. It sounds as if this may be a book I need to read. He mentioned that search engines will not find your site immediately, and he also mentions keywords and phrases. I believe these are both important lessons a person needs to consider. I often use a strong keyword search tool, and I also use a plug in that tells me if I have broken links.

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